The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi

Review

How do you catch a World War II Nazi war criminal? Fifteen years, a girl, her blind father, a team of spies, forgers, doctors, careful planning and a good deal of luck. THE NAZI HUNTERS by Neal Bascomb is a true retelling of the discovery and capture of Adolf Eichmann, head of Nazi Department IVB4, responsible for carrying out the deportation and deaths of millions of Jews.

"I picked the book up expecting cut and dry facts and was surprised by a true story that kept me glued to the book until the final page."

Eichmann was discovered in Argentina by a teenage girl who was dating Eichmann’s son. Some amateur spy work by this girl and her blind father lead to a peak of interest in the case, which had faded when it was determined inconclusive. A year and a half later, interest in the case began again when Eichmann was correctly identified by Israeli spies and plans were set in motion by the Mossad, the Jewish Intelligence organization, to capture Eichmann and bring him back to Israel to put on trial.

As the book continued, I began to realize the significance of this criminal and his capture, not only in order to bring him to justice, but also to remind the world of the Holocaust and create a platform to hear survivor’s stories. For the first time in 15 years, people were able to share the events of the war on a large scale as a part of Eichmann’s trial and in response to it. Eichmann’s capture was more than an isolated event; it was important for Israel and the world.

In this thrilling James Bond style book, Bascomb includes daring escapes, fake identities, captures, secret rooms constructed within houses, a human-size storage compartment in a caterer’s cart, secret missions and action normally seen in spy thrillers. I picked the book up expecting cut and dry facts and was surprised by a true story that kept me glued to the book until the final page. While the story reads easily, the content is deep and I would highly recommend it.